Potato-digger.



No. 668,6". Patented Feb. I9, |9`0I.

` J. P. RADERMACHER.

PTAT'U BIGGER.

. N M d l (Application ledApr. 6. 1900 o o e 3 Sheets-Sheet l,

No. 663,6".` Patented Feb. I9, |901.

' .1. & P. RADERMACHER.

l PDTATO BIGGER.

{Application led Apr. 6, 1900.` (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 T5: nomsPETERS o. PHgjo-Llwo.. wAsmNsmN, D. c

No. 668,6". v v Patented Fh. I9, 190|.

' J. & P. RAUEBMACHER.

POTATO BIGGER.'

{'Ap'pncaeibn mmap-.0. 1900.; (No Model.) Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 3l .zobodying our invention.

NiTnn .STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN RADERMACHER, OF WRIGHTSTOWN, AND PETER RADERMACHER, OF KAUKAUNA,WISCONSIN.

POTATO-DIGGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 668,611, dated.February 19, 1901;

Application led April 6. 1900. vSerial No. 11.832. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J oHN RADERMAOHER, residing at Wrightstown, in thecounty of Brown, and PETER RADERMAOHER, residing at Kaukauna, in thecounty of Outagamie, State of Wisconsin, citizens of the United States,have invented new and useful Improvements in Potato-Diggers, of whichthe following is a specilication.

ro Our invention relates to improvements in potato-diggers, all of whichwill be fully described hereinafter and particularly referred to intheclaims. f

The object of our invention is to provide a I5 potato-digger which willdig the potatoes, separate the m from the dirt, and deliver them in arow to be afterward gathered up.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of apotato-digger etnlongitudinal central sectional view of the same. Fig. 3is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a detached perspective viewofone edge of the elevator-frame and its side board.

Fig. 5 is a detached perspective View of the rear end connecting-plate,which extends longitudinally of the driving-shaft.

Referring now to the drawings, Aindicates the side beams of the mainframe of our ma- 3o chine, and B a connecting-plate which is constructedas shown in Fig. 5, the said connecting-plate having itslaterally-extending ends bolted to the side beams A and a stem portionextending over the top of thel drivingshaft C, the said driving-shaftbeing journaled to the said connecting-plate in any desired manner.Loosely placed upon the ends of the driving-shaft C are thedriving-wheels D, and these driving-wheels D will be pro- 4o vided withany desired form of clutch for the purpose of throwing them in and outof gear with the driving-shaft. We prefer to use a form of clutch whichis inclosed within the hubs of the driving-wheels; but, forming no partof our present invention, it is not here specifically shown ordescribed.

The forward ends of lthe beams A of the main frame of the machine areconnected by the essentially W-shaped'bar E, formed of 5o flat met-al,as here shown, the said bar having an inwardly-extending U-shaped loop EFig. 2 is a vertical at its center, the said loop extending rearwardlyand receiving between it the intermediately-pivoted arm-or draft-bar F.'Ihe forward end of this draft-bar F is pivot-ally connected, by meansof a king-bolt lO, with a wheel-arch G, the wheels H being suitablyjournaled to the ends of the said arch. A suitable tongue I is connectedto the central portion of this arch G, and the tongue is con- 6o nectedby means of the braces J for the purpose of making the tongue laterallyrigid r with the arch G, by means of which the implement may be readilyguided, as will be readily understood.

For t-he'purpose of enabling the operator to elevate or lower the frontend of the main frame of the machine, and thus regulate the depth atwhich the plow b shall enter the ground to suit the conditions of theparticular 7o work being performed, we provide the forward portion ofthe main frame with an essentially U -shaped arch K, having at itscenter a depending U-shaped portion L, within which is pivotedaleverM.Connected with the short end of this lever and the inner end of thedraftbar F is a suitable connection N, here shown in the form of achain. Supported by the arch K, at one side of the lever M, is a notchedsegment P, with which a ratchet is caused to en- 8o gage in the usualmanner and which is so well understood by those skilled in the art thatany definite description or illustration thereof is not necessary. Bymeans of this construction it will be readily understood that theoperator is enabled by depressing the lever to raise the forward end ofthe frame or by releasing the lever to permit the forward end of theframe to drop, and thus raise -or lower the plow or scoop b and in turnregu- 9o late the depth at which it shall enter the soil. For thepurpose of limiting the downward movement of the front end of the framein respect to the supporting and guiding arch G and itssupporting-wheels H we have the inner end of the draft-bar F to extendsufficiently in to engage the arch or connecting portion of the U-shapedloop E' in the center of the connecting-bar E at the front ends of thebeams A, as will be readily understood Ioo from Figs. 1 and 2.

Suitably connected with one end of the driving-shaft C, between one ofthe wheels D and the adjacent beam A, is a suitable gear-wheel R,meshing with a gear-wheel S, (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2,) which isjournaled to the beam A.

Projecting upwardly and rearwardly are the inclined beams B, which havetheir outer ends supported and braced by depending braces C', havingtheir lower ends abutting against the rear ends of the beams A.Journaled to the upper ends of the inclined beams B is a shaft T, thesaid shaft T carrying at one end a sprocket-wheel U, and passing aroundthe sprocket-wheel D', which is operatively connected with thegear-wheel S, is a chain V, by means of which the shaft T is caused torevolve through the medium of the driving-shaft and the driving-wheels,which are adapted to be operatively connected therewith, as beforestated.

The plow or scoop b, hereinbefore referred to, is supported by means ofthe forwardly-extending iiat metallic bars c, to the forward ends ofwhich is bolted the said plow or scoop, and the rear ends of these barsc are suitably bolted to the ends of the transverse plate B, which issituated just above the driving-axle and to which the driving-axle isjournaled. The forward ends of these bars c are supported and braced bythe depending brackets e, which have their upper ends suitably connectedwith the side beams A and their lower ends connected with the bars Cnear their front ends.

There is arranged just in rear of the plow or scoop l) an inclinedelevator,which is adapted to receive the vines, potatoes, and dirtscooped up by the scoop b and to convey them to the upper end of theelevator, andthe elevator is so constructed as to permit of a verticalvibration thereof for the purpose ofshaking the dirt from the potatoesand vines as they are being elevated, thus serving to separate the dirttherefrom and also to lighten the load of the machine. Supported at thefront portion of the machine and just in rear of the scoop b by means ofdepending brackets f is a shaft h. The elevator consists of the sideboards g, which are connected at their lower ends by means of atransverse board k and at intermediate points throughout their lengthsby means of the transverse rods p. 'n represents the rodswhich'constitute the incline plane, which serves as the supportingelement for the potatoes and Vines as they are being elevated thereon.These wires are arranged in parallel series, as clearly shown in Fig. 3,side by side and have their lower ends attached to the transverse bar 7cand their upper ends extending to and beyond the shaft and slightlycurved downward, as illustrated. Attention is directed to the particularconstruction of these bars n, which constitute the incline plane. Thesebars are provided with the intermediate eyes q, which are adapted toreceive the supporting-rods p and are also provided with the elongatedupwardly-extending port-ions r for the purpose of carrying the wires nup above the su pporti ng-rods p, and then there is a short turn r',which serves to enable us to form an inclined plane of these rods, whichare practically unbroken, in that the formation of these rods bent asjust described forms an incline plane which has the longitudinalport-ions thereof in contact with each other and in exactly the sameplane, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. The transverse bar 7a,as before stated, forms the lower end of the inclined plane, and thisbar is pivoted with the shaft h by means of suitable loops Z, whichleaves the upper end of the inclined plane or elevator free verticalmovement for the purpose of being vibrated as the vines and potatoes arebeing elevated thereon The upper end of this inclined plane or elevatoris supported upon an angular shaft r2 by means of the depending portionss of the side boards g, which are in contact with this said angularshaft, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Situated upon one end of this angularshaft is a sprocket-wheel s, and upon the projecting end of the shaft Tis a sprocketwheel u, and passing around the sprockets u and s is asprocket-chain t, whereby motion is given to the angular shaft when theinachine is in operation.

The potatoes, vines, and dirt which are scooped by the scoop b arecarried upon the lower end of the inclined plane and are then caughtbymeans ofatraveling elevating mechanism, which we will now describe. Thiselevating mechanism consists of sprocketchains a, which pass aroundsprocket-wheels 8, carried by the shaft T at the upper end of theinclined plane, but independent thereof, and pass around the pulleys orsheaves t', carrie'd by the shaft 7L at the lower ends of the inclinedplane. Connecting these chains at suitable intervals aretransversely-armnged slats m, which serve to catch the dirt, potatoes,and vines and carry them along up the incline plane as they pass fromthe scoop b.

For the purpose of keeping the vines and rubbish from blocking the scoopZ9, and also for the purpose of keeping the lower end of the elevatorclear of vines and other rubbish, which would likely lodge thereon, weprovide a transverse crank -shaft 4, situated just above the lower endof the elevator and adjacent to the scoop b, and this shaft is revolvedby means of a sprocket-chain 3, passing aroundasprocket-wheel 2 upon thedriveshaft C and also around a sprocket-wheel 5, carried by thecrank-shaft 4. This crankshaft 4 is provided with two crank-arms 25,which carry whatwe term kicker-levers 6, the lower ends of the saidkicker-levers being pointed and preferably sharpened and their upperends being connected with the arch K through the medium of suitablelinks 7. From this arrangement it will be seen as the machine is inoperation these arms are being carried forward and up the incline andserve to carry with them the vines IOO Ilo

and to break them loose from any entanglements which they may assume andto break them away from any point upon which they may hang either uponthe scoop or the lowerend of the elevator. These kickers serve a veryessential and eflcient portion of our machine in that the saidkicker-levers are situated in lines above opposite sides of the plow bin contradistinction to placing them adjacent to the center of the plow,for the reason that these kickers are situated as here shown in relationto the opposite sides of the plow, so that they will be effective incutting and breaking away the vines that hang to the edges of the plow,which is a difficulty which has heretofore eXistedin machines of thischaracter. They are so situated also for the purpose of preventing thecutting and slicing of the potatoes, which would occur if they wereplaced in the center of the plow.

Attention is directed to the fact that just in rear of the scoop weprovide a space 20 between its rear edge and the lower end of theelevator,which is constituted by the transverse board or bar lc. The.object of this space is to permit considerable of the dirt to falltherethrough, and thus prevent the necessity of disposing of this dirtas it passes 4along up the elevator and serve's to very materiallylighten the load of the machine and therefore to make it work easier.vines, and potatoes are being carried up the incline plane of theelevator the elevator is being continually and rapidly vibratedby meansof the transversely-arranged angular.

shaft r2, before described, and this serves to shake the dirt from thevines and the potatoes, and it is found that the dirt is practicallyremoved therefrom when they reach the upper` end of lhe elevator.

For the purpose of preventing the potatoes from being scattered allaround when they are delivered from the upper end of the elevator andalso for the purpose of assisting to still further remove foreignmatter, such as dirt or rubbish, therefrom we provide the machine justin rear of and below the upper end of the elevator with inclined rackscomposed of inwardly and downwardly extending bars 9, which aresupported by rearwardly-extending beams 18. rlhese bars 9 approach verynearly together at their lower ends, as shown in Fig. 3, and extendinward at an incline, as shown in Fig. 1. From this description it willbe noted that as the elevator delivers the dirt, potatoes, and vines tothis rack as they fall from the elevator the dirt is still furtherloosened therefrom, and in the striking of the rack the dirt will falltherethrough, while the potatoes are gathered together and roll down tothe center of these rods and fall out between their lower ends in a rowasthe machine passes along, thus putting them in a position from whichthey can be quickly and readily gathered.

A suitable seat 15 is supported upon the As the dirt,l

arch 14 and in a position where the bar M is convenient for operationand by means of which the driver is enabled to readily and quicklyregulate the depth at which the scoop is being run.

We find from actual practice that a machine built in accordance with thedrawings and description herein given is Very efficient in the diggingand the separating of the potatoes and that when dug they are deliveredin a row with the dirt separated therefrom and from the vines.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. An inclined plane forming part of an elevator for potato-diggerscomprising a frame having transverselyarranged bars, and longitudinallyarranged rods having eyes u formedintermediate of their ends, andreceiving the transversely-arranged bars, and said eyes havingupwardly-projecting portions r bent inward adjacent to each other, andthen bent in opposite directions to carry their longitudinal portions inthe same plane, substantially as described.

2. A potato-digger comprising a frame,driv ing-wheels, an inclinedelevator, a plow situated at the lower end of the elevator, a transversecrank-shaft supported by the frame above the plow, the said shaft havingcranks located in lines above opposite sides of the said plow,kicker-arms intermediately pivoted to said cranks with their lower endsarranged edgewise in respect to their line of movement and located aboveand adapted to cut and remove the vines from opposite sides ofl IOO theplow, the crank-shaft carrying a sprocket- Wheel, the drive-shaftcarrying a sprocket` wheel,'and a sprocket-chain connecting the saidsprocket-wheels, whereby direct connection between the drive-shaft andthe pickershaft is effected for giving the necessary power in operatingthe picker-shafts for removing the vines from opposite edges of th plow,substantially as described.

3. An inclined plane forming part of an elevator for potato diggerscomprising side boards having transversely-arranged bars andlongitudinally-arranged rods having eyes formed intermediate of theirends and receiving the said transversely-arranged bars, a transverseblock near the lower end of said side boards and receiving the ends ofthe longitudinally-arranged rods and loops carried by the saidtransverse block, adapted to receive a shaft, whereby the inclined planeis adapted to swing from said point, substantially as described.

4. A potato-digger comprising a frame, a plow attached thereto, aninclined endless conveyer extending from the upper end of the plow, aninclined plane comprising side boards connected by transverse bars, thelower end of said conveyer being pivoted, an angular shaft below theupper end of said IIO Igo

conve'y'er and driven thereby, and each side our hands in the presenceof two subscribingr board having a downwardly-projecting arm witnesses.

resting on said angular shaftl in a plane, JOHN RADERMACHER.

whereby when the shaft revolves both sides PETER RADERMACHER. 5 of theplane rise and fall simultaneously, Witnesses:

substantially as described. RICHARD OCoNNoR,

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set S. C. GARVEY.

